Switch throwing and locking means



Sept 15,1925. 1,554,139

0. STEELE SWITCH THROWING AND LOCKING MEANS Filed Dec. 29, 1924 J z n m n H 3 u l|ll l I Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED 3T5 ret na OLIVER STEELE, 0F SULLIVAN, INDIANA.

SWITCH THROWING AND LOCKING MEANS.

' Application filed December 29, 1924. Serial No. 758,683.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER STEELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sullivan, in the county of Sullivan and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch Throwing and Locking Means; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in means for throwing railway switches and locking them in either closed or open posi- 'tions, the object being to provide an extremely simple and inexpensive construction which may be easily installed and will not require any special arrangement of ties, such as those now commonly used for supporting switch stands. The invention is intended primarily for use upon comparatively light railways, such as those used in mines, but it is by no means restricted to such railways.

lVith the foregoing in view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanying drawing.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a switch embodying my improved throwing and locking means.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan, showingv the switch moved to and locked in a differentposition from that disclosed in Fig. 1.

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional views on the planes indicated by lines 3--3 and 44 of Fig. 2, looking in the directions indicated by the arrows.

In the drawing above briefly described, a railway has been shown, including the usual ties 1, rails 2 and switch tongues 3. I have shown these tongues connected by a bridle bar 4 and another connecting bar 5, and said bridle bar is disposed between two of the ties 1, and extends under the rail and tongue, at at least one side of the railway, this extended portion of the bridle bar be ing indicated at 6. A horizontal switchoperating lever 7 is pivoted between its ends at 8 to the extended end 6 of the bridle bar 4, the ends of said lever overlying adjacent ties 1. One end of this lever is fulcrumed to one of the ties as indicated at 9, while the other end projects outwardly from the other tie so that itmay be easily grasped by hand and operated. Secured to the last named tie, is an abutment 10 having oppositely facing vertical shoulders 11. When the lever '7 is in switch-closed position as shown in Fig. 1, it abuts one of the shoulders 11, so that the switch is locked, and in order to move the lever in a manner to open the switch, as seen in Fig. 2, it is necessary to spring the lever .7 upwardly and then swing it over the abutment 10, so that it may operate the bridle bar and the switch tongues. When the open position of the switch is reached, the lever snaps downwardly and engages the other of the shoulders 11, so that the switch is again locked in the position to which it has been moved.

Attention is directed to the fact that the extended end 6 of the bridle bar 4: contacts with the adjacent rail 2. Thus, said end of the bridle bar has a tendency to hold the lever 7 down to insure that it shall remain in proper engagement with one or the other of the shoulders 11, and when said lever must be swung upwardly to disengage from said shoulder, not only does said lever yield, but in most instances, slight yielding of the bridle bar 4 will also occur, so that the combined resiliency of said bar and lever act to normally hold the latter in a lowered position in engagement with one or the other of the shoulders 11.

The abutment 10 is preferably formed from asingle elongated metal. plate having its central portion stamped upwardly, its end portions being provided with openings to receive appropriate fasteners 12, by means of which it may be secured to one of the ties.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the invention is of extreme simplicity, yet that it will be very desirable and advantageous. Excellent results are being obtained from the details disclosed, and they are therefore by preference followed, but with in the scope of the invention as claimed, modifications may of course be made.

I claim:

1. In combination, a pair of spaced rail.- way ties, railway rails and a switch tongue passing across said ties, a bridle bar between said ties, an operating lever spaced outwardly from one of the rails and pivoted between its ends to said bridle bar, means pivoting one end of said lever to one of said ties, and an abutment secured to the Ice other tie and having oppositely facing shoulders, said lever being-adapted to be moved vertically out of engagement with one shoulder, swung horizontally over the abutment, and lowered into engagement with the other shoulder, to move the switch from one position to another.

2. In combination, a pair of spaced railway ties, railway rails and a switch tongue passing across said ties, a bridle bar between said ties connected to said switch tongue, an operating lever spaced outwardly from one of the rails and pivoted between its ends to said bridle bar, said lever being formed of resilient material to permit one of its ends to be sprung upwardly, means pivoting the other end of said lever to one of said ties, and an abutment on the other tie above which said lever must be sprung in order to permit it to be swung from one position to another, said abutment having oppositely facing shoulders for engaging and locking said lever in either of its positions.

8. A structure as specified in claim 1, said abutment comprising an elongated metal plate having its ends secured to the tie and having its intermediate portion offset upwardly, the ends of said oii'set portion forming said shoulders.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed my signature.

' OLIVER STEELE. 

